


Conspiracy

by teoweasel



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, Atsumu is lowkey depressed, Atsumu steals three small children, Excessive use of the phrase Shove It, Farmer Kita Shinsuke, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, Minor Osasuna, Multi, Past OsaShira, Pro Volleyball Player Miya Atsumu, Swearing, You won’t cry reading it, but it’s there - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23891014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teoweasel/pseuds/teoweasel
Summary: “You need a break!”Bokuto’s tinny voice blasted through the phone, causing Atsumu to drop his sponge into the swirling soapy water. “Like hell I do!” He scoffed.“There’s nothing wrong with taking a break, Tsum-Tsum.”-In which Atsumu visits a sleepy country town where everyone seems to know his name but not his fame.
Relationships: Kita Shinsuke/Miya Atsumu, Miya Atsumu & Miya Osamu
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	1. Day 0

Fuck.

Atsumu wasn't on the national team. Instead, Kageyama had took the setter spot on the world stage, with Hinata by his side like old times. Atsumu would feel a lot better if that was all. Sakusa, Ushjima and Kourai - all of whom he had known from his time at nationals and then with the Jackels had made it to there. Whilst Sakusa wasn't as strong as Ushijima or as motivated as Kourai, the possibility of being benched and - no, he still got to go rather than be left at home, with the dull ache of practice without two of their most prominent players. The generation of monsters... Japan's shot at gold. And he wasn't with them. Atsumu Miya wasn't even worthy of the bench.

Osaka was far away from Miyagi. Yet Osamu was right there, by his side, for the biggest disappointment of his life. Well, it wasn't too much of a disappointment. Atsumu had seen it coming, thanks to Hinata mentioning his scouting. But he still held on tighter to the hope that maybe there was a way...

Osamu had come around with Suna on the day of results. Aran had joined them after meeting on the train, laughing as the twins bickered over something trivial as they waited for the list to appear on Atsumu’s phone. None of them made it. No Ojiro Aran, Suna Rintarō or Miya Atsumu had made it to the Olympics. Atsumu couldn't help but want to stuff his face in his pillow and scream.

"Wow, it's just like Youth Camp." came Suna monotone voice breaking into his thoughts. His teammate had been chosen as a libero to represent them, and it made Atsumu stomach squirm. Hoshiumi, Kageyama, Sakusa, Komori...it would probably be just as chaotic as it was back then. Especially now with Shouyou. "Ya know Riseki's teammate went to youth camp too." Osamu told the trio seated beside him, probably trying to steer the conversation away from their failure. 

Atsumu felt sick and no distraction would help. "Riseki? He's in Kanagawa now, right? We had a practice game with them recently, Riseki's grown quite a lot. " Aran added, though his voice was somewhat heavy. Atsumu remained silent.

"You better give us your phone number before you leave, Ojiro. We'll have to grab something to eat sometime. Maybe hold a reunion where we’ll all get wasted out of our minds." Suna steered the conversation even further away, giving Aran a faux angry look. We're they just going to pretend nothing had happened? Had they accepted their defeat already? "Huh? Osamu has my number though. We just talked-" Osamu shoot Aran a pointed look though if Atsumu was honest, he was barely paying attention to the conversation. The screen of his phone had flashed to black.

He didn't know how much time had passed before a hand on his shoulder jolted him back from his thoughts. "Atsumu, have you heard from them?" Atsumu looked up. The other three were staring at him, expressions borderline unreadable. Contemplating, maybe? Pity? They shouldn't. They didn't make it to the Olympics either. Osamu excluded, they should be more upset than they were. "Uh, who?" He asked. His brother rolled his eyes and scooted closer. "Akagi and Ōmimi-san. Aran said he hasn't heard from them in a while. Neither have I." Suna shook his head too.

Atsumu tried to recall when the last time he'd talked to his seniors had been. Crying as they graduated and promising Kita he'd uphold his legacy as Ōmimi-san laughed at him? Akagi calling him drunk three months later, Ōmimi picking up the phone as Akagi apparently puked on the side walk ten minutes into the call? Ōmimi-san asking about his graduation? Akagi congratulating him on getting into the Jackals? He didn't think he'd talked to either since, despite Akagi's habit to call at random times through the night sometimes. If he had been awake, he couldn't bring himself to answer, either too tired or too awkward. He hadn't done it in a few months though.

"Maybe they're dead." He suggested much to the scandal of Aran and amusement of his brother. "What about Ginjima? He texted me the other week. Wanting some Onigiri from you." Suna poked Osamu's cheek with his finger and Atsumu gaze was drawn to how close they were sitting on the bed. Even Aran seemed to be perched closer to Osamu than two people who'd been teammates in high school. Whatever. 

"I haven't talked to him in a while. Guess there isn't much to talk about between us." Aran said evenly, though he looked a little disappointed. It wasn't like he'd talked to Atsumu in ages, so did he have any right to complain about Ginjima? Atsumu finally spoke up. "Me either. Last text I got from 'im was about his co-worker spilling wine over his shirt. Man, he'd have clobbered him."

Talking with them had been...agreeable. Atsumu had gotten distracted from his feelings when they started talking about heading to the park to watch the ducks and then the day had flown past almost as fast he and Osamu scared the ducks away. When they got to the train station, Aran waved as he left, Suna and Osamu looked at each other and then at Atsumu. 

Seemingly in a silent conversation, they didn't seem to notice how creepy it was to outsiders. "It'll be a while before my train," Osamu started, causing Suna to nod along, "so I'll cook for you if you let us stay, 'tsumu."

Food from Samu was nothing short of a miracle of god. Still, if the pair of them were staying, he'd have to wrangle a blanket from his neighbour, which was always a pain. Atsumu cringed just thinking about it. His neighbour didn't often leave his flat but still took forever to answer the door when he needed anything and always looked like a zombie. What exactly he was doing, Atsumu wasn't sure. "I don't have enough room for two people. One of you will hafta sleep on the floor." he said instead.

"That's fine. I don't have practice for about a week anyway. The Jackels don't either, right?" He looked at Suna in question. "I saw it on Twitter. Didn't they text you, Atsumu? Like, given you a notice or anything? That's why I'm staying in Miyagi with my gran and not in Nagano."

Ah. He'd forgotten about that. There was a week of peace for the MSBY Black Jackals after an instance of...well, they might've lost two of their members to the Olympics but they'd lost more to Bokuto's incident. Someone had a fractured wrist, there were cat scratches up another's back and a few counts of food poisoning. EJP however, just had a break to see family.

'It was an event only the best of the best could witness.' It had been described by Bokuto to the Coach as several players lay out of commission. Atsumu has been there and it truly was amazing. Not as amazing as the twitter thread on the official page, but close none the less.

"Atsumu? What're going to do?" Osamu had asked as he got down from the memory of the tiktok that caused so much chaos. It better go viral, or Atsumu and several other 'non-believers' would be forced to download the app. They were walking back to Atsumu's now.

What was Atsumu going to do? He could spend the week at his parents or by himself in the small apartment, but neither of those ideas seemed interesting. He wasn't exactly on the best of terms with them after high school, especially when Osamu brought home his first boyfriend. It was pretty weird, had been his first thought. He'd expected his brother to bring home a pretty girl, like most other guys in Japan. Instead, there was the boyfriend.

He was smart, a medical student in Miyagi. The boy had played volleyball in high school too, but given it up in favour of a job that he felt matched him more. He was a respectable guy with a bright future. Yet the Miya parents hated him. Atsumu found himself talking with the boyfriend more than his own parents as they stewed in silence. Shirabu was a good guy, if a little short-tempered but if Osamu was to settle down with anyone, Shirabu seemed like a good choice.

His parents obviously thought otherwise. And then Atsumu had an epiphany and suddenly his parents and him were arguing constantly until he too moved out of the house.

"Hmph. Maybe I'll tour 'round Tokyo. Sight see or whatever." But at such short notice, getting a room would be hard. Osamu shook his head slightly as if reading his mind. "Maybe you should head back to Hyogo. It'll be pretty calming there, and you'll find your people among the cows." Atsumu smacked him. "I'm speaking the truth."

"That isn't a bad idea. The countrysides is pretty. And maybe you'll stop spouting cow dung if you smell it." Suna supplied, causing Atsumu to scream. "Do you want to stay in my flat or not!?"

* * *

Osamu had mentioned the country. As he cooked dinner, Atsumu and Suna sat on their phones and Atsumu...well, the place he mentioned was pretty. 

"I know some people in this town here," Osamu had said as they walked back after Atsumu shout had attracted the attention of a few older people who glared at them for disturbing the peace. He was pointing to some blob on the digital map that Atsumu honestly couldn’t make sense of. "A woman I know owns a hotel on the outskirts, if you go you should stay with her. She'll probably let you just swing in tomorrow if I give her a heads up. She makes great food." He'd said. "There's a café we visited a month ago, the owners are very friendly. The chef makes great sashimi."

And Atsumu was hungry. 

"I think I'll go there." He said out loud, causing Osamu and Suna to look at him in surprise. "What? I might aswell. Text your friend or whatever. I wanna see the cows."

Osamu nodded, his eyes wide and Suna took to writing rapidly on his phone.

* * *

_Mr. Clean gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute!_  
_Mr. Clean will clean your whole house and everything that's in it!_

_Floors-_

"Sup, Omi-kun."

Atsumu drawled into the phone at the god awful hour of one in the morning. _"I thought I told you to get rid of that western commercial as my ring tone."_ Sakusa Kiyoomi said, sounding just as chipper as always at the god awful hour of one in the morning. 

"Aw, how'd you tell?" He rolled over in his bed to reach the phone in case the speaker woke Osamu and Suna up, who was probably drooling all over his floor. _"Because you always leave it for exactly twelve seconds before you pick up. Every single time."_

"Yeah, yeah. Cut to the chase Omi-kun, what do you want at...one fifteen? 'S unlike you to call at all." Atsumu hasn't known Sakusa to talk about anything other than the during practice or about the team. Maybe about dinner plans, once in a blue moon, when they were each other's only options. 

_"I'm..."_ The man sighed, and there was a shuffle as Sakusa moved on the other side of the line. Sakusa started again, _"My cousin's agreed to let a couple of us practice in her gym this week, if you want. You're the type who always wants to improve, right?"_

"Ah," Atsumu knew Osamu had already told his hotel friend about him coming to their town but this was practice. Then again, what was it that Bokuto had said the night before the incident? He needed a break. "I'm actually busy this week."

The grainy voice of Omi did nothing to hide his surprise. _"You're busy?"_

"If that's all, I'm going to sleep now." _"Wait, what are you doing?"_

Atsumu sighed and threw the phone against the pillow, then laid his head next to it. "Ya don't need to sound so surprised, Omi. I'm just going to the country. 'Samu's got friends there or whatever. I think he thinks I don't got any."

Sakusa always replied bluntly. _"You don't."_ Atsumu always replied how he saw fit. "Screw you."

There was awkward silence for a moment. _"I hope you have a good time. Relax, you need it."_

Just before he hung up, Atsumu muttered a short bye and sighed loudly. He had friends. 


	2. Day 1

As far as train journeys go, it's not the worst Atsumu had ever been on.

As soon as he gets out of Osaka, it's like the people who formerly made the train all hustle and bustle had vanished into thin air. There were still people in most seats but as Atsumu stared out the window, he could block the sounds out.

Atsumu spent most of the trip in his own head, sulking. If he was lucky, he'd catch himself thinking about volleyball and what he could do to improve himself. But then it would go away before he could form his thoughts into a plan.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes to peer out of the window. It wasn't as stunning as he'd hoped, just...boring. It wasn't picturesque scenery, where hills rolled at the edge of the sky as the sun cast a golden glow against the fields. It was normal houses, trees, streets and the sky was covered in a quilt of grey. The train made everything a blur as it hurtled down the track.

The shapes blurred together the more he stared out of the window until eventually all he could see was brown and green swatches, like a painting of a meadow.

What could he improve next? Atsumu rested his head on the glass and closed his eyes. Maybe he could work on a long set more? Or maybe-

Then he felt something on his back.

"What the hell?" He yelled, whipping around to face a boy in his teens, looking deeply unimpressed with him. In his hand he held a cup, with the scare remains of ice coffee at the very bottom. "Get your face off the glass, ya nasty."

"You didn't need to throw your drink on me! If ya didn't want it, put it in the bin!" Atsumu looked about to see people whispering as they watched the scene, a few people unsubtly holding their phones as they giggled or looked aghast. He lowered his voice and gave the guy a withering glare. "That's where the rest of it went."

"Lame," the teen said, plopping down on the seat next to him. He must've recently came on at the last stop. "Why's a city slicker like you in the country? We don't many people with your, uh ...style." The teen gestured to his hair and Atsumu resisted the urge to smack him. Instead Atsumu settled for a scrunched up face and to continue his glare.

"I'm not sure," He said instead of an insult which caused the boy to raise an eyebrow. The teen leaned back and placed his arms behind his head. "Ya got burnout syndrome or something? That office job giving you wrist ache?"

"Not quite." Atsumu looked at his wrist. "I guess, I wasn't in my right mind when my brother suggested it. You're in high school, right? A club? I went pro in my sport..." He trailed off. Was he really talking to a random teenager on a train about this?

"I’ve always worked on it more than anything else. I went to the U-19’s youth camp as best setter, right?" The guy nodded, although a part of Atsumu knew he wasn't really listening. It just felt good to vent. "I met all these amazing players who went on to the Olympics."

"I got recruited to a Division One team a few years back." The kid looked at him then, eyes betraying his monotone voice. Atsumu grinned back. "The MSBY Black Jackels. Yet still, I wasn’t chosen for the Olympic team...Think my Captain is still proud?" The guy laughed a little.

"Sometimes ya lose, sometimes you win, right? I'm sure your captain's proud of you. Even if you didn’t make it to the Olympics, window kisser." Atsumu squeaked in indignation.

"You're so rude. Ever thought of getting a muzzle?" The teen tutted and moved his hands from behind his head to the bag behind him. What kind of monster sat down with their bag behind them? He fixed Atsumu with a sickly sweet smile, "Doesn't explain why you look like a drowned rat." Atsumu fought the urge to once again yell at a teenager.

"Reckon that'd be your fault." Atsumu said instead, returning the smile back. 

* * *

Osamu had sent him three texts whilst Atsumu had been on the train. The first about the Shirogane Inn, where he’d be staying which came with a note not to mention the owner’s husband. The second about Osamu forgetting to tell Atsumu about the fact that the town was awhile away from the train station, so he’d have to be picked up.

The third was about the woman who'd be picking him up to drive from the station. Yukie Shirofuku, red hair and an outfit that he'd only described as questionable at best.

There's a woman standing there when he exits the train station, her dull red hair and outfit denoting her as the woman Osamu was friends with. In a weird way, she looked exactly like the kind of person Osamu would be friends with.

Well, she was also stuffing her face with onigiri for some reason, whilst standing at the edge of the car park, so for all Atsumu knows they could be best friends. Atsumu taps her on the shoulder.

"Wah?" The woman says, dropping the remains of her lunch and staring at the remains. When she looks up at him, she has the look of a woman betrayed. "You're Osamu's brother. Atsumu, right?" Osamu's brother Atsumu? Not Miya Atsumu, setter to the MSBY Black Jackels? Atsumu looked at the woman, who was talking about something or the other. Her voice drawls as she speaks, as though she's too lazy to use hard letters. "M' Shirofuku Yukie."

Atsumu flashed a grin. "Nice to meet you. D'ya need some rest?" He asked, pointing to her drooping eyes. The woman stared at him impassively. His smile falters slightly.

"So...Shirofuku and Shirogane, huh? Are there any more Shiros I should know about?"

There's a silence for a moment before Shirofuku gives him a plain look. "The triplets." She says simply and without another word she steps into the car, rice left on the floor of the carpark.

Atsumu took a moment to cringe at the car - which barely looked functional. It was a standard truck, but old, dirty and the glass windows were blacked out. As Atsumu took a seat on the other side, she looked at him with a raised brow. "Aren't you curious about them?"

"Eh, I don't really care." he lied. "But if you wanna tell me, guess I wouldn't mind lending an ear." He added quickly. Smooth going, Atsumu. Now it was obvious he did care.

"Hm. They're Osamu's little protégés. They can cook better than me, but I still wouldn't trust any of em near anything hot. The oldest would defiantly see it as a way to act like some high chieftain or whatever." She smiled slightly, and started the car.

As the machine grunted to life, Shirofuku turned to look at him with a glare painting her serene expression."If you're car sick, you better do it in your own lap or else I'll be dropping you off in the middle of the road."

"Yes M'am." He saluted.

He forced down the urge to vomit when Shirofuku speed up and the road suddenly became a rollercoaster track.  
  


* * *

A few minutes pass by driving in the countryside and Atsumu has already memorised half the scenery. Theres almost always trees at the side of the road, sometimes a building that looks like it hasn't been cared for in years. There's a distinct amount of farms, which surprises Atsumu quite a lot. Cow farms, rice farms and there's been several farms he can't quite tell, the land uneven and sloping. There's been a single river.

There's nothing of interest.

At all.

In fact the journey was so boring that Atsumu was beginning to think there was absolutely nothing of interest this far into the country and maybe he'd take Omi-kun up on his offer after all. After wasting almost two hours travelling there, the escape scenario felt dull and boring.

That was, until Shirofuku's car pulled into a town.

The town itself wasn't exactly how Atsumu had imagined it, more built up than he'd thought. Shop windows had bright colours that attracted his eyes like a moth to a flame and the cars that parked along the side weren't all like Shirofuku's. However, it retained the small buildings with low roofs and otherwise dull colour scheme he'd seen on the way down.

One particular shop caught his eye. It had a stand of flowers out the front in red, black and white - in stripes of colour. The shop itself was made from dark wood but the front was mostly covered in windows. The roof was the same as the other buildings,with the exception of another floor on top.

"Hey, Yu-chan? What was that shop?" He asked. Shirofuku shook her head slightly. "Which one?" She'd asked though her eyes never deviated from the road. Atsumu sighed and looked out the window once more. She could at least pretend to be interested in his questions.

The was a school at the very edge of town, with high green fences and a single gym. "That where you went to school?" He attempted to start a conversation again. The woman shook her head again. "Nah, I'm from Tokyo but I've been staying at the hotel for awhile now. I work as a farmhand at Old man Kanata's."

Now that was something he could use. Atsumu tilted his head slightly. "Tokyo's pretty far. How'd you end up here?" He asked sweetly. 

"Killed a man."

Atsumu took a moment to collect himself before he let out a small laugh. "Did he deserve it?" Shirofuku smiled faintly but still refused to look at Atsumu. "Hell yeah."

"I'm just kidding, maybe. My Ma grew up around here. I didn't know what to do after high school so I worked at a maid café. When my parents found out, they sent my packing down here to help at my grandfather's." She started.

"I used to hate it." Shirofuku sighed, brushing a piece of hair from her face. "We have to get up real early and check everything's in order before we even begin working. When we do get to it, the sun can make it unbearable."

"I guess I've accepted my life here now. It's alright, the food here's fresher than the ones in the city. There's nothing better than food..." She trailed off, a faraway look in her eyes. "It's not like I don't get time off. Back in winter, I went up to Tokyo for quite a while to try some food we don't get here."

Does she only think about food?

"When I'm here, it's more peaceful. Tokyo's all push and shove. Here it's like...a koto's playing? It doesn't get as lonely as I first thought either. Most of the people round here are older, so they always want me to get married to their grandsons. It's quite funny but I'm not married yet."

Atsumu gave a sympathetic nod but his mouth ran faster than his brain. "Can't imagine why."

* * *

"Yukie-chan, you're here!" is the only warning before the Inn door is opened and three children rushed out the door like a pack of dogs.

As Atsumu opened the door, they crowd his exit. The three seem to be around the same age and the first, a scruffy black haired boy with golden eyes is grinning up at him from his car door. He's missing a few teeth, and his arms are covered in bandages but he grins brightly all the same.

"I'm Keitaro!" He proudly states, then points to his siblings. These must be the triplets. "That's Kazuki and our little brother is Kichiro! What's your name, Miya-san's brother?"

Besides him, the one whose almost identical to Keitaro speaks second, his brown eyes blazing with curiosity. There's not a single bandage on him, but bruises line his knees. "You're the volleyball player, right?"

Atsumu nodded, but before he could talk the eldest kid yelled again.

"Shut up 'ki. I'm the oldest so I get to talk!" Keitaro yelled, forcing Atsumu to swallow his dread. They wouldn't be like Bokuto.

"I'm older than you." "No, I'm the oldest!" It wouldn't be like the Jackels. It wouldn't be like the Jackels. It wouldn't be like the-

"Um, Miya-san? I'm Shirogane Kichiro. Welcome to the inn. Sorry about my brothers." The final triplet spoke up, his eyes a soft reddish against his siblings yellow and brown. Dark-brown, curly hair that stood out from the straight black of his brothers. He was smaller in stature and held him self in a nervous manner. He didn't seem bothered when his siblings started kicking each other.

He smiles a little and moves to stand. He can see Shirofuku and the owner laughing at him in the corner of his eye so he shoots them a well-deserved glare. "Don't worry about it, Kichi-kun." He says, because this is a child and if he wanted to get into an argument it wouldn't be with this kid. He was a mature adult. Kichiro nods.

"Keitaro, Kazuki! Be careful, you'll scare Miya-kun's brother away!" The owner finally interrupts, finished laughing at him with Shirofuku. She's crossed the parking lot in record time as the boys split, though both kept glaring at each other. "Atsumu-kun. My name is Shirogane Erika, but please call me Erika. I'm the owner of the Shirogane Inn and as such, I apologise for my children." She hummed with a small smile.

The woman was clearly foreign, tall with pale blonde hair and emerald eyes. She was needlessly beautiful for a woman who ran an inn, thin yet curvy, skin pale and clear as snow. Compared to Shirofuku, she looked like a model. Perhaps she was? She didn't look a day over twenty five yet had three children who had to be around seven. Some people got all the luck.

"Oh," Erica clapped, snapping Atsumu out of his haze. "Let's go inside, shall we? You're room is all prepared but you must be hungry. Please come try something for lunch."

* * *

"Sorry about them again." Erica said as she sat down a bowl of chicken soup. Atsumu eyed it suspiciously before giving her a faint smile.

"I’m sure those kids are a load of trouble." He responded, and took a mouthful of soup. He yelled as it burnt his tongue, causing Erica to scowl. "Did your parents never tell you to blow on your soup?" She asked, sounding innocent and Atsumu felt the need to defend his honour.

He placed his spoon back inside the bowl. "How is your inn still in business?" He asked instead which was definitely not what Erica was expecting. She frowned heavily. "I do not say that to all my customers. Just ones who are stupid."

"I'm not stupid! I'm-" Well, he was stupid - but he wasn't stupid! Atsumu groaned internally. "Whenever I eat soup, I just have it cold."

Erica shook her head slightly. "I shall remember that for next time. You should still have been able tell from the steam that rises off the bowl." Atsumu shoves the spoonful of boiling soup in his mouth, fighting back his tears as he glared at the woman who made a fool of him. Atsumu rested his head in his hands as soon as the soup was finished. 

‘Kageyama Tobio scores another service ace, marking his seventh this game!’ 

“Have you heard?” whispered a giggling girl in a pink scarf. Her friend, a blue scarfed girl shook her head slightly but a grin graced her features. “That’s Miya Atsumu-san, right?” Blue whispered but Atsumu could hear it loud and clear. 

Pink giggled euphorically. “Miya Atsumu-san! He was squashed like a cockroach! He doesn’t even deserve to be on the same court as the Kiniro Sports Jumpers!” She screeched and Atsumu tried to block their conversation out. 

“Miya Atsumu-san! Miya Atsumu-san!” 

Atsumu rested his head in his arms, willing the voices to just leave him alone. 

“Maybe he’s asleep?” asked a quiet voice to Atsumu right. There was a scoff to his left and a mocking voice spoke. “He can’t be asleep with Keitaro yelling his ear off.” 

“Hey! I’m not yelling!” The first voice yelled. 

Atsumu buried himself further into his arms. He wasn’t Division Three. If he didn’t have volleyball, there was nothing else that he could do. What would he do with no qualifications and the ability to burn any food he cooked? Nothing. 

Maybe he could become a farmhand like Shirofuku? But he’d probably overwater the crops. If he had any talent for making faces or voices, he might become an actor but at twenty three with no experience he doubted it. There was nothing that compared to the thrill of volleyball. 

What else but volleyball had there ever been for him? 

“Miya Atsumu-san! Miya Atsumu-san!” the first voice spoke again, urgently this time. Atsumu looked up to see- 

He reeled backwards. 

“What are you doing on the table?” He asked, eyes wide at the sight before him. The bandaged triplet was standing on the table, in some kind of superhero pose. On the floor were his two brothers who both looked deeply disappointed. 

The bandaged triplet beamed. “You’re awake! I told you it’d work.” He glared at the identical triplet who rolled his eyes and looked away. Atsumu was left wondering why he was sat at a table with a child on it. 

The identical one to his left tapped Atsumu on the arm so he turned to look at him. “Atsumu-san, we were wondering if you could take us the park?” Hs said evenly, and Atsumu raised a brow in confusion. Then he smiled slightly. 

“Eh, why not? Lemme just...get out of these clothes first, okay?” He offered, remembering the coffee incident with a cringe. He’d not thought about much since the train. Had he had a wet back in Shirofuku’s car? He didn’t want to die here, where nobody would ever find his body, buried in the fields to be used as fertiliser. 

The bandaged boy - Keitaro - squinted down at him before leaping of the table and circling back around. “There’s nothing wrong with your clothes, I wanna go now! Now!” He demanded, pulling the chair from under the table. The chair almost toppled backwards. Well, the shirt didn’t feel disgusting. Maybe it’d dried well. 

Atsumu guessed it would be fine and nodded. “‘Kay, let’s go. Uh, where is it?” The kids smiled, all identical and Keitaro spoke again. “We’ll lead you there! Do you have any money for ice cream?” “Save yerself for dinner, Kei-kun!” Atsumu yelled as the kids all ran for the door, leaving him to pick himself up from the table and chase after them. 

The kids were insanely energetic for people their size, leaving Atsumu to wonder how the sleepy town cared for them. Atsumu knew he should probably tell them to slow down in case they tripped but he’d never listened as a child so he doubted the kids would. 

The park was apparently not much a park, instead a field to the south of town with a slide, swings and a climbing frame. There was another thing Atsumu couldn’t name that spun. 

“Miya Atsumu-san!” Keitaro yelled and Atsumu was beginning to think this kid had no volume control. He had somehow teleported to be sat of the swing, attempting to kick his feet off the ground. 

He stared at the kid for a solid second. “D’ya want me to push you?” The kid nodded quickly. 

“You’re so childish, Keitaro.” sighed the identical triplet - Kazuki - who had taken to the climbing frame. The smallest brother giggled from his place besides Kazuki. 

Keitaro’s face burnt red and he moved to get off the swing but Atsumu stopped him. He gave Keitaro a small smile. “Eh, shove ‘em Kei-chan. If you wanna swing, swing.” He suggested, causing Keitaro to nod slightly. He turned to look at his brother and stuck his tongue out. 

“Kazuki’s just a baby who thinks he’s too mature for his own good just cuz he picked ma’s speech up!” Keitaro told him as he swung. The kid looked down at his feet. “It’s unfair cuz I try real hard to do all that...mature stuff too! But he laughs at me when I say something as tame as thank you very much! He thinks I’m a heathen.” 

Atsumu fought down the urge to laugh at him. He was not five, he could control his emotions. “Ya should sock him or something next time.” He suggested, and laughed in amusement at the kid’s shocked face. “Miya Osamu-san told me off for doing that, so I stopped. He said it didn’t work and just caused ‘more issues’ or whatever,” 

“That so?” He hummed, thinking of all the times Osamu had kicked him in the shins for stealing his food. “But fighting comes in handy too, so practicing can be useful. That’s why animals do it to their siblings and sh-stuff.” 

“We’re not animals.” The kid pointed out and Atsumu shook his head, “We are, just a little more advanced. Ya know, we share lots of our blood with monkeys.” 

“That can’t be true!” Keitaro screamed, causing Atsumu to cringe and stop pushing the swing. The swing hit Atsumu in the face. The boy yelped. They toppled to the ground. 

There was laughter from the climbing frame. “Idiot brothers.” Atsumu heard Kazuki murmur and turned to stick his tongue out. 

By the time the triplets wanted to head home, Atsumu was exhausted. The kids were too, after running around the field playing tag for almost thirty minutes. To Atsumu’s surprise, Kazuki had won and Keitaro had been the tagged for most of the game. However, not to Atsumu’s surprise, the pair were fighting on the way back. As they ran past a dark shop, Keitaro pushed Kazuki into a flower trough lying in wait. There was silence as they all stared at one another. 

The silence was broken by none other than Keitaro. “The chef’s going to kill me!” he wailed tearfully. Kazuki nodded and looked at the door of the shop. “The chef of this café is really tall and scary looking. I’ve seen him eat Mama’s soup right out the bowl.” He shivered. Kichiro looked like he’d seen a ghost. 

Atsumu gulped. “Guess we better run then.” And off they took. 

* * *

  
Osamu's first boyfriend, or the first he'd brung home, was naturally pretty. He recounted the tale of how the two had met in a train station in Miyagi, Shirabu spilling coffee down Osamu's shirt as he raced to get to class on time.

It was a meet-cute. And a lie.

Osamu shook his head later that night when Atsumu dragged him to their former room, preparing to leave. He refused to talk about their real meeting, which was suspicious. He left when Atsumu wouldn't stop asking.

Atsumu saw Shirabu a couple of times after that, mostly when he'd visit his brother. In fact, Shirabu and him had become quite good friends over the time they had been dating. Osamu and Shirabu had broken up a year ago, due to Osamu's work and Shirabu's incredibly stressful studies, but Shirabu was on good terms with both the Miya twins.

 _"You're in Hyōgo?"_ Shirabu asked, as shocked as anyone would be. Atsumu pouted. "Is it that strange?" He asked, laying his back on his bed with a huff. The ceiling was white. The room was pretty western, with a monotone colour scheme broken up by a few splashes of colour in the paintings hanging on the walls.

When Shirabu spoke again, he'd calmed down a little. _"You aren't an alien, are you? Say something only you'd know. What's my favourite band?"_ Shirabu had had a weird obsession with Pop for a year, but Atsumu doubted that he had a particular favourite. He'd never mentioned any artists. "Hell if I know. Some 2006 emo one probably." _"Screw you."_

Atsumu felt a smirk gracing his face. Classic Shirabu. "Everyone I've told seems to say the same words you did. Osamu was the one who suggested it but-" There was movement on the other side of the phone and Shirabu whispering something. Atsumu raised a brow. "What's that?"

 _"What's what?"_ Shirabu sounded guilty. Atsumu smirked wider. "Do ya have a boy over, Ken-kun?" There was even more movement on the over side, and a voice muffled by a pillow. Shirabu returned to the phone. _"As if. I'm doing an assignment."_

"Sure, sure. Anyway, your secret boyfriend aside, Samu literally freaked out this morning! He made like, three phone-calls in ten minutes! That asshole, I was leaving and he didn't even say bye." Atsumu told him, the ceiling swirling into a pool of white in his vision.

 _"Huh? That seems unlike him. Well, the phone thing."_ Shirabu seemed contemplative. _"I bet it's one of his grand plans or whatever. He's going to prank you so hard. God, I wish I could see your face."_ He laughed and Atsumu swore loudly into the phone.

"Shove it. Can't I have a single weekend free of other people's devilry?"

Shirabu hummed, and the click of a keyboard distracted Atsumu from his line of thoughts. He checked the top of his phone. "Geez Ken-kun, starting an assignment so late? Ya some kind of masochist?"

_"Nah, but I'd be a sadist for you. Don't you have practice of whatever in the morning?"_

"No. I think Shirogane-san wants be to do something tomorrow though. She's got this really chilling prescene. I wonder if she's a relative of Kita-san?"

There was a sigh on the other side of the call and the disappointed voice of Shirabu spoke. _"You're still on about Kita-san? Aren't you over it?"_

Atsumu stared at the ceiling as though it had murdered him. "Eh? I don't mention Kita-san that much!"

 _"Listen, Atsumu. My brother from my ex-boxfriend's family. You're telling me that you're over Kita-san? Last time we talked you mentioned him,"_ Shirabu took a gasp of air. Atsumu pouted, there was no need to be that dramatic.

_"Three times. Three times, in a single phone call, seven years after he graduated? I don't think of anyone from old team three times in a year."_

"I did not! And that's a lie! You were swooning over Ushjima like, two weeks ago! And you can't wax up poetry on the spot like that!" _"I didn't wax poetry!"_

"Sure," Atsumu clicked his tongue. "You know, it's been seven years since he graduated and you're still swooning over his spikes? Aren't you...over it?"

Shirabu screeched like a banshee, or maybe a woman caught bathing. _"That's totally different! Everyone finds Ushjima hot! Ushjima isn't even objectively unattractive!"_ There was a cough on the other side of the line but Atsumu ignored it, his temper flaring high.

"If you were here, I'd strangle you. Get a grip on your hypocrisy! Besides, I'm over Kita. I never liked Kita. He was just a good captain that I am thankful for." Kenjirou snickered and the voice in the background returned. Atsumu heard the throwing of something hard and winced. "Does you boyfriend know you love Ushjima Wakatoshi?"

_"Fuck off. I'm busy now, never show your face in Miyagi again."_

"You're so cold. I thought I was your brother from your ex-boyfriend's family?"

_"You were adopted."_

And with that Shirabu hung up, leaving Atsumu alone in his room with the too-high ceiling and too few pillows.

He stares at the ceiling for awhile, before he rolls into the covers and succumbs to the sweet release of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yukie is one of my favourite haikyuu characters of all time. I love her (#'-'#)
> 
> I think the Olympic team will be a lot more varied than the one in here I wanted to rub salt in his wounds, ya know? Like everyone you know did something that you can't? Prime suffering material. It’s also obviously taking place in 2020...cause reasons.
> 
> I recently convinced one of my friends to watch haikyuu...I hope he likes it? Like every single time someone I like has been shown in the new arc I’ve screamed at him about it so I guess he already knows the basics of some characters? still...he’s real anti-sports anime.


	3. Day 2

Atsumu is awakened by the ringing of a phone in a obnoxious manner and an even more obnoxious name blaring across it's screen. He blinks the sleep out of his eyes and turns the phone over.

He rolls back so his face is in the pillow and begs whoever is watching over him for ten more minutes of rest. Sadly, ten minutes escape him when the phone blares again, this time a text has come from the fiend and his sleep is forever ruined.

**The Ugly 1**

6:09 am 

are u dead

4 missed calls

6:25 am

answer me

wtf

NO???

okay good

you broke my friend's flowers

if you don't go apologise I'm going to have them murder you lol

BROTHER

DO YOU HATE ME SO?

yes

CAN U PLS SHOVE UR BULLSHIT SOMEWHERE ELSE 

which friends you illiterate pig

your the one who was in class 1

can you even speak Japanese lol

JUST TELL ME 

the café that u broke the flowers of???

you havE no rain huh

I AM NOT MADE FROM RAIN MY UGLIEST SIBLING

apologise

or else

There's, unsurprisingly, two more messages in his inbox. One from Hinata last night which he checks second. Atsumu is bombarded by a mess of childish language and typos, a few words that Atsumu doesn't actually know and a picture of what Atsumu can only assume is him with his younger sister. He decides to keep it simple with a thumbs up. Maybe he should put his phone on silent for the time being.

The other is from an unknown number, apparently Aran's. It's a simple message so Atsumu decides it'll be best to reply simply back. A simple yes, this is him and yes, he is in fact in the country like Osamu said.

That's all. Not that's he surprised, three messages is pretty normal when he's teammates with two of the most overly friendly people in the universe. He is surprised because there is not a single message from Bokuto, who usually takes the 6 am shift of yelling at Atsumu about a cute video. There's not a message from Suna telling him to enjoy his holiday while he can, or anything that implies Osamu or Sakusa ratted him out to anyone else in the team who'd be a lot more interested in bullying Atsumu in the wee hours of the morning. 

Perhaps it is one of Osamu's pranks. Still, maybe he's finally grown considerate enough to leave Atsumu's free time alone. Atsumu doubted it, but it was a slim possibility.

He's forced to awaken from his bed by the sound of banging plates and what he can only assume is the end of the world occurring below him. At almost seven in the morning. 

He rolls out of bed despite his wishes and shuffles across to the bathroom with the sound of the apocalypse ringing in his ears. 

When he reaches the stairs, there's a couple talking with Yukie, whose muttering apologies as quick as she can, despite the drawl. Her outfit is more sensible than before, something dull coloured and somewhat dirty. Her eyes met Atsumu's and he sees a flicker of mischief he knows means he's about to regret this. 

"Oh, Atsumu!" she says, the smirk now etched onto her face. The couple turns to look at him, eyes wide. "I'm running later to my gramps farm, so could ya tell the Daishōs where to find the dining hall? Thanks, bye!" With incredible speed, she's gone like a flash.

He almost doesn't realise she left him to guide the couple until the man coughs. He turns a smile to them and silently plans Yukie's murder in his head. "I'm Atsumu. The dining hall is just this way, if you'd follow me!" He says with a winning smile that has the lady looking suspicious.

He has no idea why he's suddenly tasked with helping out Yukie at seven in the morning but it's at least an easy job that he knows and he can yell at Yukie later. 

The lady speaks up as they walk, her eyes nervous as she glances from him to her husband. She speaks quietly but the suspicious tone is still prevalent. "My husband and I aren't used to places this small. Do you live around here?" she ask, causing Atsumu to realise that these two may in fact know who he based on their glances.

He opts to scratch his neck and pretend that he isn't Atsumu Miya, instead Atsumu - some kind of sick puppet of Yukie Shirofuku to get out of working with customers. "Ah, I don't exactly live around here but I do know the owner, and I'll be staying for a few more days." He says, hoping that the truth covered him well enough.

It wasn't like Atsumu didn't love the attention of a beautiful young woman. It's just that, he did come here on a whim, drawn in my pictures of waterfalls and trees hiding animals in there branches. Peace. There's no doubt the Daishōs came here for that too, knowing a celebrity (he totally was, screw the press for never covering him) was here might ruin the peace.

Daishō nodded contently and then they arrived at the hall, where Erika was hovering with two of the triplets - Kichiro and Kazuki who were already dressed for school. Keitaro was nowhere in sight.

“Daishō, Atsumu - good morning!” Shirogane hummed with a smile as Atsumu sat down at the table nearest the cereal. He should know the direction to the café, shouldn’t he? After he left the inn, he’d head past the school on the left and keep walking south till he got to the main street.

* * *

  
"Oh. You're actually here!"

Atsumu turned his head to see a young man standing at the counter. He was short with spiky black hair and sharp eyes...The was a vague familiarity in the way his grin spread across his face. The man was grinning but still looked shocked. Quite rude. "I'm guessing this is the café Osamu likes so much."

The guy's face fell a little. "Aw, did Osamu mention us? That ruins the surprise." He hummed contemporary before smiling widely. "But~ Osamu does love his food so that makes sense! What'll it be Atsumu? I recommend the beef curry or maybe the cheesy omelette." Then the guy's face changed to a more contemplative look. "I guess those r' pretty boring for a city boy. We don't got any fatty tuna but if ya want we can make some great sashimi."

"You have sashimi?" He asked. The guy nodded. "What fish do you have?" He asked, curiosity taking the better of him. Osamu obviously mentioned his love for fatty tuna when talking to his café friends. Yet he didn't tell him barely anything about the people of Ojiro.

"Fish? Hmm...Yellowtail, Tuna, Mackeral and...Salmon. We also have sushi available. Oh, we also have Inari Sushi as a special this week! But Osamu probably mentioned that. We always make it whenever he comes to town."

While it wasn't that many fish types, it was a pretty small café and the regular tuna would be fine anyway. Before he could speak, the guy suddenly started gesturing wildly. "There's a shop around the corner! They'll have fatty tuna there. I can go get some if you want!" And the guy took off like a bolt. A groan erupted from the other patrons of the café.

"Has he left?" Another voice asked from the kitchen. Familiar too, maybe he'd meet these people at Osamu's house party. "Yea, he's gone." Atsumu called causing the guy to groan. "Sorry about Michinari," The man walked out of the kitchen, draping his apron over the counter. When the guy looked up, he looked incredibly surprised. "Oh, Atsumu! Osamu told us you'd be coming." 

The guy sat down at the counter stall. "I think he told the whole town." Atsumu grinned as the man laughed. "Michinari will be back soon, I'm sure. He certainly wasn't a libero because he was slow. Do you want a drink while we wait?" Atsumu nodded and turned his attention towards the menu.

He flashed a grin to the tall man. "I'll have some amazake." The guy smiled faintly and Atsumu suddenly felt like there was something he was missing. "Amazake?" Something was defiantly up by his tone. "What's wrong with amazake?"

* * *

"Hey, is that my amazake?" yelled Michinari as he entered the café, bag of fatty tuna in his hands over his head.

"You'll drink the rest anyway, if it doesn't get drunk." 

He twisted his face at his taller coworker and grumpily stomped to the counter to give the man the fatty tuna. "He wants sashimi. Now shoo!" The guy went back into the kitchen.

"Ugh. That's my amazake. And he gave it to you! Atsumu Miya! Life is so cruel. I wish I had hidden it behind the pickled blossoms." Michinari groaned and rested his head in his arms. Atsumu thought to comfort him but the amazake was sooo good and he barely knew the guy so he could only offer a 'it's really good' which made the guy sink deeper into his arms.

"If you come again, don't tell Ren where my storage place is. We don't use the pickled blossoms much, except for the old lady who loves sakurayu." Atsumu nodded. "You've been quite quiet Atsumu. Is something wrong? You were never like this in high school. I mean, I guess you were pretty quiet when I was drunk that one time but other than that-"

Wait. What. Atsumu felt his gaze slip from Michinari to the door to the kitchen. Michinari, a highschool libero. Knows Atsumu from High School.

"Akagi?" He whispered.

"Yeah?" Akagi replied, his brow pinched as he looked over Atsumu in worry. "Akagi." He repeated. "Akagi Michinari." Akagi Michinari, Inarizaki libero of 2010-2013, looked at Atsumu Miya, Inarizaki setter of 2011-2014, in pure confusion. "That's my name?"

"Fuck. You're Akagi."

Akagi was silent and his eyebrow was raised. "...Did you not know who I was?" 

"I haven't seen you since graduation! You're still as short as ever, huh?"

"Shove it. Ren, you wouldn't believe this! Atsumu didn't know who I was!"

"Really?" came a shout that sounded suspiciously like a laugh from the kitchen. "Ask him if he knows who I am." Akagi turned to Atsumu with a wicked grin. He repeated the question despite Atsumu obviously hearing it. "Do ya know who Ren is?"

"Shove it. I just didn't know it was you because you look so different!" Despite saying this, Atsumu now noticed that Akagi didn't look too different. He'd aged, his face formerly cute now less round whilst his eyes slightly less mischievous. His hair was shorter than before, sure, but retained the general weird shape he had it in in high school. 'All Natural Rooster hair' he'd called it when someone asked him why he gelled his hair up.

Akagi just hummed. "He knows you Ren! Didja think Ōmimi just started up shop with another dude who coincidentally looks just like his old roommate?" Akagi giggled and smacked Atsumu's head before he could respond. "This is why ya should've picked up yer damn phone when I called ya. I'm hurt beyon’ measure."

"Ya sure look it." Which caused Akagi to break into hysterics. "Atsumu, do I look like some rando Ōmimi found on the street too?" He wheezed out between laughter and Atsumu almost felt genuine worry that he might suffocate, but Akagi deserved that fate. He felt a small warmth in his chest, he still didn't understand Akagi to this day.

Atsumu waited until Akagi calmed down a little before continuing the conversation. "'Samu didn't tell me that you'd be here. I thought you two were some nice friends who ran a café after being raised here their entire life. Instead I get an evil gremlin and some grandma in wolf's clothing who are here to ruin a beautiful area with their filth."

"Ouch. That's harsh." Akagi said, clutching his heart. "If Osamu didn't tell you about us, did he tell you about-"

Akagi was interrupted by Ōmimi appearing out of nowhere and placing a plate on the counter in front of Atsumu. "Your sashimi. Michinari, fix this idiot another drink. Some water, he looks pale."

"Didja call me Michinari when I went out?" Akagi asked sourly as he bent to grab a glass in the cupboard behind the counter. "Mhm, why?" Ōmimi went into the kitchen to grab something. "Ya totally tipped him off. Oh, remember that stuff for Kanata." Akagi turned the tap on as Ōmimi dropped something in the kitchen. "I'd never hear the end of it if I forgot." Akagi placed the glass in front of Atsumu as Ōmimi came out holding two plates of food. It looked to be some beef curry. Akagi went into the cupboard beneath the counter and pulled out two soft drinks.

The pair sat down in unison on the other side of the counter to Atsumu, shoving the plate and drink respectively to one another. "Ya know, you should eat that quickly. And close your mouth, you might catch flies."

"Are you two..." Atsumu had only seen that type of display on tv, or when his parents were angry at their kids and they seemed like a inseparable unit intent on ruining their kids' mood too.

"Huh? S’ up Atsumu?" Ōmimi asked, though his mouth was full of curry. Atsumu wasn't really that close to either of them anymore, so asking that question could be seen as rude. They were still his upperclassmen. Still, Atsumu couldn't care less about appearing rude. Still, he doubted that anyone else from the club other than him and Osamu could be... "Are you two seeing anyone?" He asked instead.

Akagi looked like he was about to laugh again but he didn't. Instead a silence settled over the café. Had the other patrons left when they'd be talking? It did seem to be their break time. Ōmimi seemed to notice something in his curry, his gaze intense and loaded. 

Yikes. "Osamu keeps telling me to get a girlfriend," Atsumu started, trying to diffuse the tension. "but not many people I know are dating." At this, the pair opposite him looked at one another from the edge of their eyes. If they weren't dating, they sure made him feel like a third wheel.

"I don't have a girlfriend." Ōmimi started evenly. "Neither do I." Akagi added. "But I think we could give you some dating tips, as your upperclassmen." Ōmimi. "For a price." Akagi finished. Creepy telepathic ass bitches. First Osamu and Suna's weird glances, the Triplet’s, then the Daishōs' and now these two? Maybe he'd walked into a cult. 

Atsumu frowned, “Maybe later.” and stuffed his mouth full of sashimi. Didn’t have a girlfriend his ass, what kind of men started a café together and developed some alien form of silent communication? They were dating, they had to be. 

Maybe they were just really good friends? I mean, he hasn’t seen them do anything too romantic. Friends might have silent communication. Heck, even enemies might have silent communication. Maybe he should try it with Kageyama next time they faced each other on court. 

It would be weird for Akagi and Ōmimi to date. After all, Atsumu liked men. Osamu liked men. Suna probably would marry anyone who he could joke around with. The percentage ratio (or something. Atsumu was once again, not very smart) did not add up. 

Well, Atsumu didn’t know how to calculate a percentage ratio so maybe it didn’t multiply up? What was a percentage ratio? Something about plants in a field? How could you translate that to the Inarizaki Volleyball club? They weren’t plants, sometimes they had gone in a field though...

Wait, that wasn’t percentage ratio. That was the other thing...

Atsumu made a mental note to look it up later.   
  


* * *

  
As soon as lunch with Akagi and Ōmimi is over, Atsumu walks calmly away from the door until he is out of sight. As soon as he is, he bursts into a sprint and runs to the nearest place he knows, the park.

Well, he was far from a regular resident and Yukie still hadn't shown him around.

Atsumu sits on the swing and immediately opens his phone to call the person he hates the most in the world. They phone isn't answered until the third call which does little to sate his anger.

"What the fuck 'Samu!" He yells, attracting the attention of a pair of cats lounging lazily in the sun. There's no one else in the park, which Atsumu is thankful for. If he yelled a curse when there was kids around, he'd probably be yelled at by their mothers until he went deaf.

It was a school day though, so it made sense there would be no kids or teens running about the grass.

He tuned back in to hear Osamu explanation after giving the cats a glare. There was nothing that could settle him down after being utterly humiliated like that, especially Osamu lukewarm apology.

"I had to have lunch with ‘em! Lunch! When they were together! Do ya know how awkward that is?" Atsumu ranted, kicking off the ground with his feet. There was little reply but hysterical laughter from the fiend's mouth at his suffering.

Osamu probably was at work, but still had his phone unmuted which implied he knew this was going to happen. He probably had some of his coworkers listening in from the break room, showcasing his anger like some kind of zoo animal.

He scowled. "Osamu," He started after a while of no reply. There was a tiny 'yes' choked out from the other side of the line and Atsumu regretted ever thinking Osamu was a good brother when he gave him onigiri at a discount the last time.

"Yer a fucking asshole, ya know that?" This time, the yes was louder. The mostly one-sided conversation ended when Osamu grew tired of his yelling and decided it was time to go back to work.

Atsumu remembered he'd packed a volleyball just in case, and figured it was about time he let out his anger. Maybe he could spike a serve straight into the mould of grass on the ground and pretend it was Osamu's head.

He wouldn't get into the Olympics the next time if he didn't spend time practising after all. He'd have to go back to hotel to grab the ball and then come back. He should be able to make it back there in one piece.

* * *

"Atsumu! You wanna try some of this? It's pretty good~" hummed a voice as he entered the hotel for the second time that day, bombarded by the appearance of Yukie in another strange outfit. He doesn't know how long he had stayed in the park but it had made him thirsty, so he nods.

Yukie hands him something in a glass. It's defiantly not water. 

"What is it?" He asks instead of downing it like he would have before, looking at the brown liquid. Yukie shrugs and with some effort opens a bottle. "Some cheap booze from gramps. Figured it's better to drink it than to let it waste on the shelf, so me and few other farmhands took it away. Ya know my gramps, he's got these weird cow, Orochi and..."

Atsumu finds Yukie being drowned out as he stared at the booze. One drink couldn't hurt. 

One turned into a couple more and by the end of the night, Atsumu found the corner of his eyes growing blurry as he sits at a table in the dining hall. To his left, men are singing along to some song as Yukie belts it out. He spots the Daishōs across the room, also singing along out of tune. 

He doesn't know the song but attempts to come in when he can and is laughed at in good nature.

It's with a glass of water given to him by Shirogane that he remembers that he left the volley ball at the park so with a yawn, he stretches and attempts to leave the table. He manages to stumble out of the hall just as Yukie is finishing her concert.

Maybe it isn’t his best idea to go out in the middle of the night, drunk. But hey, if he dies then maybe he’d be in the trending section of the news and he’ll end his career on a high note rather than retiring and longing to play more.

He yawns once more and exits the inn, he should know the way. He’s been there three times in two days.

* * *

Someone was standing in the park. Well, not standing but from the distance Atsumu was at it was quite hard to see what they were doing. He squinted but it was no use, he'd have to get closer.

There was something about the way he was poised that remind Atsumu of something as he neared. The way the person was holding a wipe in his gloved hands was familiar. Everything from his bandana to his...Atsumu feels something switch to green as he stares wide eyed at the character.

"Kita-san..."

Untouchable.

That's the first word that came into Atsumu head as he stared at his old captain cleaning the slide in a field at eleven in the morning. Kita was untouchable, ethereal under the light as he stared back at Atsumu.

Kita and him would have never worked. Kita was too grounded, Atsumu wanted to soar high into the sky. Giving up on contacting Kita after he graduated had been part of the plan to get over him. And yet...

Kita was there, eyes wide before him whilst Atsumu was drunk off cheap beer and unable to form coherent sentences. Atsumu felt tears well in his eyes as he realised this would be the reunion between the two of them. 

Six years later, crying his eyes out, drunk out of his mind in the middle of a park.

A pathetic disgrace to everything he'd ever known. 

He wonders when he found himself against the slide with Kita sitting next to him, curling an arm around his shoulder. He turns his head to see Kita, eyes closed and humming a quiet melody.

"You know Atsumu, it's rude to burst into tears when someone approaches you." Kita spoke softly and Atsumu attempted to reply but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. Of course they wouldn’t. 

Kita shook his head, and fixed Atsumu with a gaze that pinched his brows and teased Atsumu's memory. Kita hadn't changed that much, he decided. "Why are you getting drunk anyway? That's rather unhealthy for our famous Miya Atsumu. You didn't forget your promise, did you?"

Promise? Sober Atsumu had made a promise? Sober Atsumu hasn't talked to Kita in years. Yet Kita seemed indifferent to Atsumu's internal struggle, instead opting to stare at the stars as they illuminated the sky.

He didn't know how long they sat there. Atsumu staring at Kita, Kita staring into the distance. Neither spoke anymore. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence yet...Atsumu still felt a cold edge to how Kita stared.

He turned to stare at the stars too. They were pretty. That’s really all he could think to say with Kita Shinsuke besides him. Sober Atsumu would be mad in the morning. Drunk Atsumu was just happy that he wasn’t puking on himself. 

Atsumu began to grow drowsy either way, and rested his head against the nearest surface. 

"Ah, what am I to do with you?" was whispered as Atsumu wandered off into the land of dreams. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> head canon: Atsumu is a tired drunk...I make the rules this is my AU. Let him rest...
> 
> Kita appears. What a lad.
> 
> I’m not a huge fan of this chapter. The café scene is too long (and was actually the first scene of this fic ever written!) compared to the other scenes but there isn’t really much else that was important to those scenes. It’s kinda a filler chapter except the revelations of the characters. The next chapter...more triplets...more Kita...Maybe.


	4. Day 3

When Atsumu comes too, he can hear the hushed whispers.

When Atsumu comes too, he chooses to ignore the way his head is pounding in order to wretch his eyes open. It burns. He shuts his eyes again, much to the annoyance of the person next to him.

He's promptly bought to the realm of the living by a weight on his chest.

"Miya Atsumu-san! You didn't tell us you knew Shinsuke!" came the clear voice of Keitaro. Atsumu wiped the blur from his eyes as he sat up, careful to place the energetic triplet down in case he got hurt.

"Whose ‘insuke?" He mumbled, brain fuzzy. His stomach grumbled at him, upset that he hadn't eaten in who knows how long. His throat was dry and his head hurt...Just what had happened last night?

"Atsumu-san knows 'bout Shinsuke. He's Miya's brother, idiot." Kazuki responded, making Atsumu's question redundant. Osamu had more friends than Atsumu, always the more bearable to be around so Atsumu didn't doubt Osamu could have close friends that Atsumu had never met.

Atsumu had calmed down as an adult but it wasn't like he wouldn't tell people when they sucked. If someone couldn't hit his tosses, they couldn't even call themselves human. Unworthy of the species, pigs in jackets. That's what they were. Even one of these twats could probably do it.

He was on the floor, surprisingly. Had he not made it to his bed last night? What exactly happened after Yukie decided it would be a good idea to do karaoke. Why did she even have a karaoke machine?

He was broken from his musings by the yelling of a child. "I wanna visit Shinsuke, Miya Atsumu-san!"

Atsumu suddenly realised the kids should probably be in school and checked his phone for the time, yikes. His sleep schedule would be ruined. "He'll be busy now. We can visit him later." One of them said, summoning Atsumu from his internal panic.

"Stop being such a gramps! I'm meant ta make the decision here, I'm the adult!"

There was a pause.

"So, what'll we do Atsumu-san?"

Atsumu froze. It wasn't like he didn't know what to do but he didn't exactly know what to do. What did he do as a kid? That's it!

"How about we play volleyball?" He suggested, much to the surprise of literally none of the kids. Keitaro made a face as he fumbled upwards.

"Ey? Volleyball?" wailed Keitaro. He seemed distressed over something but what, Atsumu didn’t know.

"Shuddup stupid! I wanna play volleyball." Kazuki grumpily said, accompanied by Kichiro's nod of agreement.

"Three to one, the volleyballers win!" Atsumu cheered. " 'm starving though, you've already had your lunch huh?"

He didn't want to say Erica was a bad mother but did she really trust these three to not get in trouble? Espically with Miya Atsumu as their babysitter. Who was Shinsuke anyway?

He had known three Shinsukes in his life. There was Shinsuke from middle school. He'd been a guy in his class who thought bugs were the coolest things since sliced bread. Who knows what he was up to?

Then there'd been Kita-san in high school. Osamu had claimed he'd become a rice farmer but that was probably him being a jerk. A few years ago Osamu had told him Kita had gone to the moon so there was really no telling if he'd be truthful or not when Atsumu asked. The final Shinsuke was defiantly not living in some nowhere town in Hyogo.

So really if Atsumu did know Shinsuke, it was either bug guy or the guy he's been deliberately avoided by since graduation. Well, maybe he'd avoided Kita first but that didn't excuse the fact he hadn't sent a message in what, five years?

Whoever it was, he was not excited to meet Shinsuke.

After Atsumu ate approximately half his body weight in cold soup, Erica gave them the go ahead to go to the park. She also mentioned that the Shinsuke guy was busy today so under no circumstances were they allowed to visit.

The triplets looked at each other. Then Atsumu was dragged to the park by three vicious velociraptor children.

There was a volleyball somewhere around this park but for some reason, it wasn't where Atsumu remembered leaving it. The four of them searched for it mercilessly.

Atsumu had murdered at least three ants. It was a necessary sacrifice. This was his only volleyball.

There was no sign of it anywhere.

Atsumu fell off the fence he was climbing to get a vantage point as someone shouted they'd found it. Kazuki was there, holding the ball in two hands above his heads.

Atsumu wondered if he should thank the gods. Then again, they hated him. Whenever he was younger he'd pull a bad fortune strip, he'd probably collected enough bad luck that he was cursed for eternity.

That wasn't important, it was all okay now, because the volleyball was back in his possession.

At the same time he was now faced with the very real difficulty of teaching three random children how to play volleyball. He'd dug himself into this mess.

Surely it wasn't that hard?

* * *

So far, Atsumu wasn't as close to dying a horrible death as he initially thought.

Spiking was a no go. They were kids, after all. They could barely jump high enough to touch the net, probably.

Kazuki proved to actually be half decent at serving, for a child. He'd missed a few times at the start and he lacked any real technique. If there was a net, it would have defiantly gone straight into it. He was a child. Atsumu just had to keep repeating that.

Though when Atsumu had asked him to practice setting or receiving, he'd completely blanked. They'd try after the break, since the other two seemed to need a bit more help.

Kichiro was another story. He was able to set, clumsily. His pass were also not completely terrible but they weren't anything Atsumu would ever consider good. His first attempt had his hand completely missing the ball. His second, it missed again. His fifth attempt, he hit it but it had just fallen off his hands. There hadn't been a single decent hit thus far.

Keitaro was in a similar boat. He had no accuracy. When he did manage to hit it, the ball went decently far. It did take more turns than the other two combined. He refused to even attempt to set or pass.

It seemed like the three of them definitely needed more practice.

"Kazuki wants to be a middle-blocker." Kichiro supplied to Atsumu as he sat on the grass, staring blankly to the the clouds.

He fiddled with his water bottle as Atsumu waited for him to continue. "We used to be in the basketball club. He liked blocking people out in practice, so I guess that's where it came from."

"Keitaro got us kicked out. it's for the best though, it wasn't a fun sport. I guess I was like Kuroko-kun from that anime, I was just there because I could pass real good and nobody noticed me." Atsumu didn't exactly understand, he'd never watched anime or cared about basketball. It was kind of like how Kita-san had been in high school, maybe?

"I'm a bit shorter than my siblings but I'm of average height." There was something in his voice that made Atsumu squirm. Something he'd heard before, in the past. "Those two are just tall."

"Even if yer shorter, you can still play y'know?"

Kichiro sighed loudly. "Guess so. We saw one of yer games a while back. Y' had a short guy on your team, the other team did too." He must've been talking about Shouyou. "But compared to them, I'm nothing. I can't jump high enough."

"So you're giving up before you've begun? That's weak."

The boy shook his head quickly. "It's not like that." There was the tone again. Atsumu thought he'd managed to place it. It was the Hoshiumi tone. Loud, abrasive, almost factual. Demanding to be right.

Still, there was a twisted sort of weakness to it that Hoshiumi hadn't had. "What's it like, Chiro-Chiro?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Kazuki and Keitaro, they're so much better than me. I can never compete with them. They're tall, outgoing, athletic...I'm just Kichiro."

That was...kind of right. Kichiro was a little shorter than his siblings, he spoke less. Yet the idea that he couldn't compete against his brothers sparked something within Atsumu.

Rivalry. The same thing that had driven Atsumu to become the very best. The very thing that kept him going, even if he lost. "Ya wanna know a secret?"

"What?"

Atsumu closed his eyes and sighed. Was he really telling a kid this? "When we were younger, Osamu was better than me at volleyball."

Kichiro looked at him sceptically and was about to speak before Atsumu shushed him. "Ya know what I did?"

"What, Miya-san?"

"I worked harder. An' harder. 'til I was the one who was better. Now look at us," he gestured to himself then to the air. A pro at the sport he loved and a guy who cooked rice.

He was happier indeed. Yet here he was, taking a break rather than firing through volleyballs like there was no tomorrow. All because of some dumb scouts who couldn't see he was way better than Kageyama and the other setter. Hell, a double setter play with Kageyama would even make Atsumu over the moon. It was the worst feeling to not be allowed on the court or even the bench. 

"If you have the determination, I won't say anything's possible, but if you work hard, it won't be for nothing." He finished, lowering his arms to his side.

"Is that so..." Kichiro hummed, out of Atsumu line of vision. Atsumu'd stood up and gestured to the air... Was the kid more mature than him? No, that was impossible...

"Miya-san, can you teach me how to set? That's what you do, right?"

Atsumu nodded quickly. Setting was the coolest part of volleyball after all, all kids should want to learn it. He fought the grin that threatened to spill from his face, prideful and arrogant. "Where's yer brothers? Gotta teach them too." 

* * *

The practice had wrapped up when Keitaro had spoken about that Shinsuke character again, claiming that they'd better head to him soon. Atsumu at this point, completely immersed into trying to improve these kids from terrible to decent had managed to forget what Erica had said before.

Tossing had gone about as well as a dumpster on fire for Keitaro. His hands were shaky and just got worse the more he failed. There seemed to be something on his mind as he looked at Atsumu from the corner of his eye, holding the volleyball.

"Volleyball is a sport for girls." He declared. 

What? Atsumu cringed. Girls? Figure skating, gymnastics - he could understand why people called those girly sports but volleyball? Volleyball was just like any other team sport, it didn't require any feminine typical traits. 

"You take that back! The hell?" 

This made Keitaro pause. "Isn't it? It's way too feminine for me." He muttered, as quietly as Keitaro could.

"How is it feminine?" Atsumu asked, curious. Volleyball was all fast, hard and one faulty receive could land someone in hospital. One foot landing stiffly could cause a person to tumble to the ground, a block could break a blocker's fingers. It was tough, not typically feminine.

Before he could tell Keitaro any of this, he spoke. "Whenever mama puts the TV on, I only ever see girls playing it. In school, the volleyball club is girls only." He explained.

Just how old was this kid anyway? 

"Ki's the only boy who likes it and he's a weirdo." Keitaro continued. 

"There's not a volleyball club for boys. To make a new one, 'ki'd need to gather more people and get a teacher on board, right?" Atsumu nodded slightly. In truth, he didn't know the way schools decided clubs but that seemed right. He'd heard of that before, when Ginjima had forced him to watch high school dramas on Tuesday nights.

"That's why I don't think you teaching him's a good idea. Ya put ideas in his head. Tomorrow I'll bet he's going to Monoma-sensai and ask 'im to support the club. I'll join I guess, Kichiro too. We kinda gotta."

"But three people ain't a good team." That was true. There was no way it would be a good team, especially if it was just three siblings. Especially with their level of play at the moment. It did seem pretty negative to assume nobody would want to join though.

* * *

Shinsuke was not buggy little Shin-chan.

As a man opened the door, Atsumu suddenly regained memories of what had happened last night. Maybe it wasn't too late to run away for dear life?

If only he hadn't drunk Yukie's offering and instead went straight to sleep, maybe their reunion would've been much nicer. All shocked stares, short utterances of each other's names before laughing it off. Maybe they'd look each other in the eyes for the first time since graduation and Kita would smile gently. He always looked best with a smile. Maybe he'd whisper 'Atsumu, I'm proud of you.' 

Then they'd enter the house and chat about what they had done in the past few years. Kita probably didn't listen to music when he cooked so it would be silent with just the two of them. Yet none of that had happened.

Instead, three children were jumping into Kita's house whilst he stood there. Well, at least he was smiling slightly but that smile was not directed at him. His clothing was practical and...oh. 

Atsumu felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Osamu had known all along. Of course he had. Of course Osamu would take it upon himself to try force Atsumu to admit that he'd missed Kita by throwing him in a nowhere town where everyone probably knew each other.

Kita was saying something, Atsumu realised, to him. Yet he couldn't bring himself to tune in...Maybe Osamu had bribed his protégés to force Atsumu to face himself. Maybe that's why Erica was so fine with Atsumu babysitting. Even Akagi and Ōomimi were probably in on this, maybe Osamu had recruited them for his scheme. 

There was a gentle hand on his shoulders and Atsumu was suddenly aware of the way Kita stood there. Such a proper way of standing, all straight and rigid. Then Atsumu mentally slapped himself. What a weird thing to notice. He was turning into a creep.

"Atsumu. Do you want to stay for dinner? I'll call Erica and let here know the kids ended up here. They always do." Kita admonished from the door. Atsumu guessed that's how the kids knew his schedule.

Then Atsumu was in the kitchen, the triplets had declared dominance over the living room and would probably attack him if he went anywhere near them. Kita kept toy swords. 

"I'm glad I met you again, Atsumu."

Kita was standing besides a pot, chopping up vegetables and watching them slide into the water. Atsumu was sitting stiffly at a table, green tea in his hands as he stared at Kita's back.

"That's so sweet, Kita-san! Ya don't have to win me over. I know I'm famous now but-"

"I'm serious."

Kita crossed the kitchen to reach the cupboard left to the sink. Atsumu gaze trails to how he stands on his toes to reach the top of the shelf. His heels landed flat against the floor and he's off again, this time with a bag rice in his arms. 

"I've watched most of your games, Aran and Suna's too."

"Ah?" Atsumu couldn't hold in his surprise, surely Kita was a busy man. He did take it upon himself to cook dinner for five people. "That's very nice of you, Kita-san!" 

He returned his gaze to the tea as Kita crossed back. "The recordings are below the TV. Last year Aran came over and helped build that cabinet. It's nice, don't you think?"

Both of Osamu and Aran still talked to Kita? Came to his house? Why hadn't they told Atsumu...

He also hadn't paid attention to any cabinet. "'s nice." He lied.

Kita nodded and he moved once more. This time he grabbed two items from the fridge and placed them in the pot.

"Have any of the townspeople asked you about me? When Ren and Michinari came, they badgered them relentlessly for stories about me."

"Not yet."

"They haven't? That's good."

There was certain stiffness in the air. Atsumu cringed internally. He couldn't talk to Kita. He wanted to stuff his face in the nearest pillow and scream his lungs out until he had an excuse to be this way.

Fake it 'till you make it. That would work! Why was he getting so worked up, this was just Kita. Just Kita.

A deep breath. Atsumu could talk to Kita, he could. "Nobody's recognised me either!" He blurted out, watching the way Kita jerked backwards slightly. It lasted a second before he returned to his pot. This was insufferable.

"No? Interesting."

There was the silence again. Was Kita doing it intentionally? Was Kita feeling as awkward as Atsumu?

"Would you like some more tea? I didn't know you liked it." Atsumu glanced at the cup he'd steadily been emptying. He nodded slightly.

"I'll be right back."

"Where's yer granny?" Atsumu asks when Kita sits down besides him. There was something in the way Kita looked at him that made him stomach squirm. That wasn't a normal look...

Shit, was Granny dead? There was no way.

Granny couldn't be dead. The way Kita drummed his fingers against the table suggested that though, the way Kita's gaze seemed to travel to look outside expanded on that. She'd died, who knows when? Was it soon after graduation or had it occurred recently? Had Atsumu really became that disconnected from Kita...

"Oh." He says simply, choosing to change the subject instead of waiting for an answer that won't come. "I thought Osamu was kiddin' when he first told me he'd started buying yer rice. Guess it makes sense. You always were the sort."

"The sort? What's that 'possed to mean?" Kita replies and Atsumu is thankful that he moved on just as quick.

He takes a sip of the tea again. "Well, yer Kita-san! Proper, responsible, traditional Kita-san. It's like..." he trails off as Kita's face brightens a little. "Yer the best at what ya do, obviousl'!"

Kita turned to face him with a slightly raised brow. "The best? At rice? I don't think that's the case. I'm just doing what every one else does."

Atsumu doubted that. He was Kita Shinsuke, basically the closest Atsumu's ever seen to perfection as much as he loathed to admit. Maybe his hair was strange, but he suited it and his grades were higher than Atsumu's would've been if he hyper-fixated on his studies rather than volleyball.

Kita Shinsuke was always the best of men. It was hard for him to see how Kita had ever envisioned himself as normal.

Normal was the furthest thing from anyone he knew, actually. Was normal even possible? Shirabu was probably the closest one got to normal in his circle, but the harsh words and fixed glare would drive 'normal' away. Not to mention him and Atsumu's friendship was beyond normal in every sense of the word.

Bokuto - did he count? Bokuto always called Atsumu early in the morning, but was that friendship? He'd say so. Bokuto considered him a friend, surely. Still the idea of being friends with a literal fire cracker never did sit well with him.

Osamu wasn't exactly a friend either.

Maybe Sakusa was right, his friendships were all forged around volleyball or Osamu. Were they really friends?

What was a friend?

He snapped his gaze to where the triplets were sitting, watching TV. The living room wasn't anything spectacular, a futon with a TV, a cabinet and maybe a bookshelf. Brown and white. Plain.

Besides him, Kita tutted gently and stood up. "It'll be a while until dinner, be sure to wash your hands. I need to call someone. If you need me, I'll be in my room."

Before Kita left the room, he turned to face Atsumu. "Make sure not to break anything." With that, he left, leaving Atsumu to whine after him. "I'm not a kid, Kita-san!"

* * *

**_Jelly_ **

Suna

I know ur there u rat

i'm dead actually

Stupid

Tell Samu to answer his phone or else

if he isn't answering you, why'd he answer me

because ur friends

I am his brother

what did you learn today anyway

Don't dodge the command

kinky

it's farmer boy, isn't it

YOU KNEW ABOUT HIM???

DOES NOBODY TELL ME ANYTHING?

not really, no

anyway osamu's probably busy

and I'm not doing anything for you

KITA IS MAKING ME DINNER SUNA

DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND

wwwww

i hope he poisons it

why were we ever friends

because we have so much in common

love you <3

NO WE DONT

yes we do

SHOVE IT UP UR ASS

no thank you

i will remain pure until marriage

FUCK OFF

and you expect me to believe that???

do u think i am a slut

Hmm

That's what Haru-chan told me 

wait what

haru was lying 

i didn't sleep with anyone in high school

atsumu this isn't funny

Wow, defending yourself so much makes it's so obvious

I still can't believe you slept with not one, but two girls in one week...

All because someone didn't care about ur letter...

wait, how did you know that part

ATSUMU DID YOU READ THAT LETTER

ASSHOLE

HOW DID YOU GET IT

WHY DID YOU READ IT

Valentines times day, how strange for a guy

Were you wanting a white day gift back?

of course not

i just wanted to tell them how I feel

And just how did that work out for you?

why are you bringing this up now

i don't need a guy whose never had girlfriend or cared for a girl to lecture me

it's not like an asshole like you understands love 

Harsh

Let me enjoy making you embarrassed 

I am so bored 

don't you have anything better to do

Not really

There's like another hour until dinner

Do you think Kita-san would mind if I ate some of his snacks? 

definitely 

does kita even have snacks

Oh hey there's some recordings of some of your matches here actually!

Maybe I'll send the videos along with the confession~

fuck off you clown baby

i still have my old phone somewhere at my parent’s house

i'm sure u can dig up loads of dirt on you to reveal on twitter

hahaha good luck with your man

🔪 

seriously though

Why didn't you just confess by like, telling him

because I'm a guy, atsumu 

you can't just...confess to your friend

i didn't even know he was 'like me' until after high school 

Ur the clown baby here

if he rejected you, he rejected you

I don't see what the big deal is

of course you don't

okay Atsumu, what would you do if Sakusa said he liked you

He wouldn't?

theoretically 

I'd reject him, since he seems like a real handful

and because I know he hates me for spilling juice on him

now think about the team dynamic

imagine having to get changed with a guy 

who confessed to you, whose thinks ur

sexy for some reason

OI

Work and personal relationships are kept separate 

Captain Meian says that all the time

wouldn't it be uncomfortable

you might not be friend anymore

your performance could decrease

I'm not friends with Sakusa anyway

We still work well on the court. 

maybe not the best choice

and ur not homophobic

but some people are 

ANYWAY

Why don't you confess now anyway?

Maybe if I get Samu a boyfriend he'll stop calling me hopeless 

atsumu...you idiot

we live way too far away for a relationship together 

it wouldn't work

It's not like you can't visit one another

That's what you're doing right now, isn't it?

visiting your 'grandma' 

i am visiting my grandma

it's just a coincidence that osamu lives near her

Okay sure

you know my family lived in miyagi before we moved to hyogo 

mhm, you're visiting Osamu MIYAgi

just confess already

so lame

actually I want to get married before Samu

Please never confess so he dies a pathetic loser

maybe the reason i don't want to confess is

the abomination of a brother he has

RUDE

wait I just had the best idea ever

please say it's you getting a life

RUDE

One of the kids Osamu apparently babysits thinks volleyball is for girls

Which games (Kita's recordings) do you think I should play? 

Mine, yours or Arans? 

mine obviously 

Thanks, I'll play mine

why did you even ask

I'll be sure to find the game where we beat you to a pulp though!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever tried those butterscotch angel delights? My mother used to make them for me every week when I was a kid, with like hundreds and thousands on top. So I tried one of them yesterday? I don't think you're meant to put it in the fridge with the sprinkles in it. It looked so grotesque! So I tried it right? It's absolutely revolting. Like, so sweet I thought I was eating thaumatin and the texture was like, cake jelly? I wonder how I managed to eat it. 
> 
> ANYWAY
> 
> I hate writing cause I always only have the motivation to do scenes like five chapters in the future. At least I spent 45 minutes thinking about what kind of soup, chocolates, breakfast...actually, almost every scene I’ve wrote is somehow related to food...
> 
> I mean literally. I wish I was joking. My drafts are literally, ‘miso soup scene’, not food, not food, ‘egg’, ‘chocolates scene’, ‘icecream scene’, ‘chocolates scene 2; electric boogaloo’, ‘onigiri’

**Author's Note:**

> Kita doesn’t appear for like 3 chapters - whoops. 
> 
> This is technically my first ever fan-fiction, I tried to make it as legible as possible but there’s probably still several mistakes so please go easy on me if you do read this! 
> 
> I did so much research into small towns in Hyogo that my brain went to mush and I just decided to place it in Ambiguous Area. My search history...I am so sorry, I have failed you.


End file.
